Iran

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT IRAN - PAGE 2

NEW DELHI: Anticipating easing of Western sanctions against it, Iran is acting tough over giving state- owned ONGC the rights to develop the Farzad-B gas field in the Persian Gulf. Apparently upset over India not committing to invest in the ONGC-discovered field when Iran was under sanctions, the Persian Gulf nation remained non-committal on giving rights of the field to ONGC Videsh Ltd when a high level Indian delegation visited Tehran last month, sources said. While the Indian side insists it is engaged with Iran on the issue, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency last week reported that Tehran has withdrawn the offer for Farzad-B.

KOLKATA: The Modi government has given a go-ahead to KIOCL (formerly Kudremukh Iron Ore), for sourcing ore from Iran for manufacture of iron ore pellets in the country under the rupee trade mechanism between the two countries.These pellets will then be exported back to Iran to meet the demand from Iranian steel plants. The two countries have been engaged in a dialogue on this for nearly a year. In a boost to the government's Make in India campaign, KIOCL, a PSU under steel ministry, has decided to request for exemption from paying 5% export duty on iron ore. This was decided at a top-level meeting of between officials from KIOCL, MMTC and the union steel & commerce ministries recently.The steel ministry has advised KIOCL to be aggressive in stitching up a long-term contract with Iran within the next two years.

NEW DELHI: Another door has opened for two of India's biggest exports, automobiles and pharmaceuticals, with Iran agreeing to source these from here to help New Delhi settle payment for oil imports in rupees. The two countries had agreed to settle bilateral trade in rupees after it became difficult for India to route payments to Iran because of the sanctions. However, the mechanism failed to take off as the trade was heavily in favour of Iran - India exported goods worth $3.36 billion in 2012-13 while its imports were $ 11.6 billion -- prompting New Delhi to look for more items to sell to the country.

TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi on Saturday complained that ongoing pressure from the UN nuclear watchdog was "unacceptable", and condemned a draft resolution critical of Iran drawn up by Britain, France and Germany. "It is unacceptable that such minor questions are keeping the dossier of Iran open" at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Kharazi told a news conference. The IAEA's board of governors is scheduled to again discuss Iran's suspect nuclear programme in Vienna on Monday.

TEHRAN: Iran is moving its foreign assets to an undisclosed destination, apparently to shield them from any UN sanctions over its nuclear programme, the central bank governor was quoted as saying on Friday. Iran, threatened with referral to the Security Council for possible punitive measures, has bitter memories of its US assets being frozen shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution. "We transfer foreign reserves to wherever we see as expedient. On this issue, we have started transferring.

NEW DELHI: The Left chief's grouse against the UPA government is that the regime has "betrayed" a "traditional and trusted friend of India" by opposing Iran at the IAEA. But history shows Tehran has not been favourably disposed to India's interests when it needed allies. Here is a brief fact sheet, which the Left parties and the Samajwadi Party try to drown in the din of their rhetoric of support for Iran's nuclear project. 1. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, Iran chose to support Islamabad.

WASHINGTON: US President George W Bush said the US and Russia remain in agreement on preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, a development that he said would risk "World War III. " Bush said he wasn't concerned by a meeting on Wednesday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at which both leaders said they ready to expand ties. "If Iran had a nuclear weapon, it'd be a dangerous threat to world peace," Bush said.

NEW DELHI: Two days before Iran faces a UN deadline to stop uranium enrichment, Iran's deputy foreign minister paid a visit to India and apprised officials here on Iran's position on the nuclear stand-off. Iran's deputy foreign minister Asia, Oceania and Commonwealth, Dr Mehdi Safari met foreign secretary Shyam Saran, national security advisor MK Narayanan and secretary (East) Rajiv Sikri. Mr Safari told them that Iran is open to negotiations at this stage, and would like the matter reverted to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

TEHRAN: Iran's official news agency says an explosion at a petrochemical factory on Iran's largest oil terminal has killed four people. The Sunday report said high pressure in the central boiler of the factory led to an explosion and fire at the facility on Khark island in the Persian Gulf. So far the bodies of three of the victims have been found and the blaze is under control. Several other workers were injured. Khark Island, some 750 miles (1200 kilometers)

NEW DELHI: As the standoff between Iran and the West continues over the Iran's controversial nuclear programme, India on Tuesday voiced strong opposition to any "threat or implied threat" of use of military or economic force against Tehran, saying it will not yield any positive results. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a meeting of 45-nation Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Hamburg in Germany that Iran "must be engaged purposefully and candidly" as "threats against or denigration of the country will not work".